Amtrak offers alternative for travel

With his infant son Jabez sleeping on his lap, Lenwood Cross looks out the windown Wednesday, November 6, 2013, as he rides Amtrak's Hoosier State to Chicago. Cross, who is from Lafayette, was traveling to Chicago to visit relatives. He said he prefers to ride the train over taking a bus because the train is more comfortable, cleaner and safer.(Photo: John Terhune/Journal & Courier John Terhune/Journal & Courier)Buy Photo

The Hoosier State rolled up to the boarding platform at the Big Four Depot in downtown Lafayette./On a rainy, gray Wednesday in November, roughly a dozen people boarded the 7:33 a.m. train that runs four days a week between Indianapolis and Chicago, with stops in Lafayette and three other cities./One passenger was Wanda Rose of West Lafayette./The train has become a lifeline, Rose said, explaining that she has relied on the service several times a month since July to follow up on chemotherapy treatments that began one year ago when she lived in Chicago.

"It's peaceful for me," Rose said. "It calms me, and gives me time to think and prepare for where I need to go."/But Rose's lifeline almost disappeared this year after Congress cut funding for Amtrak lines shorter than 750 miles, effective Oct. 1. Indiana initially balked at the prospect of picking up the federal government's expense of subsidizing the 196-mile route, which doesn't come close to paying for itself.

Operating and equipment expenses were estimated at $3.8 million for the line that carries about 37,000 passengers per year, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation. Riders pay $22 for a one-way trip and $44 for a round trip.

The state said it would have to pay $80.08 on top of that to underwrite the cost of carrying each passenger.

That was "not a business model Indiana would invest in ... without local stakeholders," said Troy Woodruff, INDOT chief of staff.

After a strong lobbying effort and, ultimately, a cost-sharing commitment from the affected communities, INDOT negotiated a contract with Amtrak. Local governments and the state will share the $223,249 monthly expense of keeping the line operating for 12 months, with an option to add four months.

That should buy community leaders, Amtrak and the state enough time to figure out if and how the Hoosier State can move closer to being a self-sustaining service.

Rail transportation is important to attracting employers and young professionals, say local government and business leaders served by the line.

For now, Hoosier State passengers such as Rose and Lenwood Cross of Lafayette are just grateful the train continues to run.

Both said they would take a bus if they had to. But both prefer the train over Greyhound, even though the bus service runs more frequently, at more convenient times, and takes one hour less than Amtrak to reach Chicago from Lafayette.

"I feel more comfortable on the train," Cross said as he cradled his infant son, Jabez. "It's cleaner. It's nicer. It's safer. And it's more affordable."

Traveling in comfort

The Hoosier State's upholstered reclining seats are comfortable. The cars and bathrooms are clean. Electrical outlets are available at every seat. The ride is quiet, and smooth. There are no jolting movements or clickety-clack of wheels on the track.

"We're running on welded rail, which is all one piece, welded together in long strips," explained J.R. Richardson, the conductor. "It runs much smoother."

On this recent Wednesday in November, Richardson and Pam Fogarty, assistant conductor, greeted each passenger and learned where they were headed. The Lafayette riders settled into their seats after passing by dozing passengers who had boarded in Indianapolis at 6 a.m. Some early boarders stretched out across both seats in some rows, but there was plenty of room to spare.

The train consisted of a locomotive, two passenger cars and a "buffer car" that can pull rolling stock to Amtrak's maintenance facility in Beech Grove.

Each passenger car can seat 68. On this particular morning, the train carried about 26 people per car, by the Journal & Courier's count.

Some aboard the Hoosier State passed the time reading newspapers, books or e-readers. Others worked on computers or played with cellphones.

The Hoosier State does not offer a lounge car with food service, wider seats or sleeper cars — amenities on some of Amtrak's long-distance trains, such as the Cardinal. The New York-to-Chicago Cardinal provides service from Indianapolis to Chicago on the three days the Hoosier State doesn't run.

Under the recently signed contract, INDOT has the option of adding food service to the Hoosier State. But on this trip, the lack of food did not seem to bother passengers, some of whom brought water and food with them.

Lack of access to the Internet appeared to be a higher priority. "They do ask about WiFi a lot," Richardson said.

More often, passengers or potential passengers cite lack of trains and choices of times for the Lafayette-to-Chicago service.

According to the Hoosier State schedule, the northbound train leaves Indianapolis at 6 a.m. EST and arrives in Chicago at 10:05 a.m. CST. The southbound line leaves Chicago at 5:45 p.m. CST and arrives in Indianapolis at 11:50 p.m. EST.

Valentina Pirro said she chose the train because it was cheaper than a shuttle and arrived near the downtown Chicago hotel where she planned to attend a three-day professional conference. But Pirro, a researcher at Purdue University, said she had to leave a day ahead of the meeting.

"Tomorrow morning would be too late," Pirro said. "Leaving in the afternoon or evening would be more convenient."

From the start, Amtrak has acknowledged there is room for improvement on the line, which was created to shuttle cars to and from the Beech Grove maintenance shops, where 550 employees are paid a total of $49 million a year.

Passenger cars were added as an afterthought, according to Ray Lang, Amtrak chief of state government relations.

Despite the poor service, ridership on the Hoosier State has grown 92 percent in the past 10 years. That's still not enough to cover operating costs.

To attract even more riders, the Indiana partners and Amtrak will focus on scheduling trains at convenient times, improving on-time performance, increasing track speeds and adding WiFi and food service. Ticket prices also will be reviewed.

Late to arrive

Reliability is a significant obstacle for the Hoosier State, which reaches its final destination on time just 66 percent of the time, according to CDM Smith, a consultant hired by INDOT to study the route.

One extreme example occurred on Nov. 10, when passengers were delayed 21/2 hours on the Chicago-to-Indianapolis run because of track construction just outside Chicago and a freight train-vehicle collision that blocked Amtrak's route.

"It's a great way to travel if you're not on a deadline," observed Fogarty. The assistant conductor said she keeps passengers informed, and sometimes hands out snacks when lengthy delays happen.

More commonly, delays occur because Amtrak rents space on tracks owned by freight railroad companies. That means passengers often yield to freight, not the other way around. The potential for delays intensifies near Chicago, where freight, Amtrak and local commuter trains compete for track space.

To get to the heart of the issue, Indiana is requiring Amtrak to document its on-time performance and delays due to host railroads, Amtrak or equipment. The two entities are scheduled to begin talks on the topic within 60 days of the execution of the contract.

Amtrak has been looking for ways to address the problem, said Charlie Monte Verde, government relations manager in Chicago.

The train normally runs on CSX tracks from Indianapolis to Dyer, then switches to Union Pacific, Belt Railway Chicago and Metra tracks between Dyer and Chicago Union Station.

To avoid that logjam, Amtrak temporarily ran the northernmost leg on tracks owned by the Canadian National Railway Co.

"We're looking at a more permanent solution that looks at rerouting the Cardinal and the Hoosier State to try and improve the efficiency, the reliability of the service," Monte Verde said.

Finding a solution is a priority, but there is no definite timeline for working out an agreement with a new host railroad, he said. In the meantime, conductor Dave Leppla has been assigned to learn the Canadian National route — the signals, switches, radio frequencies and other operating features.

"There's some discussion that could become a permanent route for us, so they want us to get qualified so we know what we're doing, and then we can help train the rest of the crews if that ever comes to pass, that we formally take that route as a regular route," Leppla said.

The Hoosier State was running ahead of schedule during the Wednesday trip but ended up arriving two minutes late because it had to slow down.

"We had to travel at 25 miles per hour due to construction on the CN," said Richardson, the conductor. "Normally, the speed is 60 miles per hour."

If Amtrak negotiates a contract to use that route, and the Canadian National switchers grow accustomed to handling the Hoosier State, Richardson expected travel times could be reduced, or at minimum become more consistent.

Can't drive 55

Slow track speeds are another impediment. The train trip between Indianapolis and Chicago takes five hours compared to 31/2 hours by car or bus, depending on traffic.

The train averages 48 miles per hour between Indianapolis and Dyer, based on INDOT's information. To go faster would require new track sidings and other safety equipment at an added cost of $5 million to $10 million per year, according to CDM Smith, which analyzed several different scenarios to see if any of them would come close to breaking even.

Creating seven-day-a-week service with an 8 a.m. departure from Indianapolis, and either a 3:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. departure from Chicago, could boost ridership to at least 86,000 people a year, and revenue to at least $2.2 million.

Adding a second daily round trip route could increase ridership to 163,270, and revenue to more than $4million a year.

But those changes added significantly to costs. In the end, none of the service improvements significantly closed the gap between operating costs and revenues, according to CDM Smith.

"The decision, therefore, to fund the continuation of the Hoosier State is not an economic one but rather a policy decision," the study concluded.

To determine the policy benefits of the rail service, the consultant recommended the state and the communities take several steps, including:

Create a railroad governance board with strategic oversight to negotiate for track improvements;

Institute seven-days-a-week service with more convenient times to find out if ridership and performance improve as expected;

Define which infrastructure improvements are most beneficial; and

Engage Indiana transit agencies to provide seamless transfers from the train to local transit.

Example to follow

Indiana legislators will be keeping a close watch in 2014 on efforts to improve the service, and the bottom line.

A joint study committee recommended in October that the state require Amtrak to submit a plan to deliver better service and operate the line more efficiently before Indiana moves forward with long-term funding.

It can be accomplished, according to Tim Hoeffner, Michigan's office of rail chief.

The public cost of running passenger trains decreased in Michigan after the state invested in rail infrastructure to reduce travel times, added trains and cut some expenses, Hoeffner said during an August rail summit hosted by Greater Lafayette Commerce.

Hoeffner encouraged Indiana to take an incremental approach to investing in passenger rail.

"You're talking about $80 a passenger (subsidy) right now on this line," Hoeffner said of the state's investment. "In Michigan, we are probably in the $25 to $30 range now. We were at higher numbers years ago, but by growing the business, we've been able to reduce those numbers."

Philip Chang lives in West Lafayette and rides the Hoosier State two or three times a month to attend business meetings in Chicago. Chang said he would be interested in taking a train to other destinations if the service existed.

"If people commute from Lafayette to Indy or Lafayette to other places, and it ran more frequently, that is something I would definitely consider," Chang said.

"It could work for more people if it ran more often, and if they did a better job of promoting it."

Local leaders — and the Amtrak conductors — are eager to see what can be accomplished in the coming months.

The fate of the Hoosier State hinges on their success. If the operation does not improve, state and local leaders have said the contract will not be renewed after Sept. 30, 2014.

"We need to give this an opportunity to be successful," Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said. "We need to have benchmarks and metrics to evaluate it and make sure it is performing and doing what we need."

"I'm hoping," Leppla said, "... we can really prove to them that we can run the railroad the right way, and adapt some of the changes they're looking for, and make this a very viable service."

"We're looking at a more permanent solution that looks at rerouting the Cardinal and the Hoosier State to try and improve the efficiency, the reliability of the service."